Legal basis: People's Republic of China (PRC) Civil Procedure Law.
Article 100
If the judgment may be difficult to execute or cause other damage to one party due to one party's behavior or other reasons, the people's court may, upon the application of the other party, order the property to be preserved, order it to do certain acts or prohibit it from doing certain acts; If the parties do not apply, the people's court may also order the adoption of preservation measures when necessary. When the people's court takes preservation measures, it may order the applicant to provide a guarantee. If the applicant is unable to provide a guarantee, the application shall be rejected. After accepting the application, the people's court must make a ruling within 48 hours in case of emergency; Those ordered to take protective measures shall be executed immediately.
Procedures for handling criminal cases by public security organs
Article 243
The time limit for freezing deposits, remittances, securities trading settlement funds, futures deposits and other property is six months. The maximum period of each freeze shall not exceed six months.
For major and complicated cases, with the approval of the person in charge of the public security organ at or above the municipal level, the time limit for freezing deposits, remittances, securities trading settlement funds, futures deposits and other property can be one year. The maximum period of each freeze shall not exceed one year.
The Supreme People's Court's Applicable Interpretation
Article 487 The time limit for the people's court to freeze the bank deposits of the person subjected to execution shall not exceed one year, the time limit for sealing up or distraining movable property shall not exceed two years, and the time limit for sealing up immovable property and freezing other property rights shall not exceed three years.
Where the person subjected to execution applies for an extension of the time limit, the people's court shall go through the formalities of continuing the seizure, seizure and freezing before the expiration of the time limit, and the extension period shall not exceed the time limit specified in the preceding paragraph.
The people's court may also handle the formalities of continued sealing up, seizure and freezing ex officio.